Celebrity Friends Who Have Dated the Same People

Famous Friends Who Also Share Exes

One of the first rules of Girl Code (and Guy Code, for that matter) is not to date your friends' exes, but hey — weren't rules made to be broken? Most of us probably couldn't fathom hooking up with our pal's past loves, but for some Hollywood stars, it seems like all bets are off when it comes to finding love. You might be surprised at some of the celebrity friends who have dated the same person; keep reading to see them now.

After Cameron and Alex began hooking up in May 2010, Us Weekly reported that Kate was "pissed" and thought it was "payback" for when she hooked up with Justin Timberlake in January 2007, just days after he and Cameron broke up after four years of dating. Cameron and Kate seemed to patch things up, though, as they were seen hanging out at the Vanity Fair post-Oscars bash in 2012, and in a 2013 sit-down with Interview, Cameron referred to Kate as her "good friend."

Somewhat surprisingly, both of the Friends stars dated the Counting Crows frontman back in the '90s. Jennifer and Adam were linked for a short time in 1995 — he's said in interviews that they "never even slept together" — and Courteney dated the singer in 1997 after she appeared in the Counting Crows video for "A Long December."

Katy and John began their romance in 2012 and famously dated on and off for almost two years; they broke up for good in February 2014. Taylor was linked to John back in 2009, although it's not clear how long their relationship lasted — though we do have her song "Dear John" and his tune "Paper Doll" to help put the pieces together.

Owen and Kate dated from 2006 to 2007 after meeting on the set of You, Me and Dupree, but their relationship was on and off through 2009. Kate and Lance began seeing each other in May 2008, not long after she and Owen broke things off. They split in July of that year, but it doesn't seem like Owen and Lance have stayed friends since then.

Drew dated Fabrizio from 2002 to 2007, and Kristen began her romance with The Strokes' drummer in 2011. Kristen and Drew starred together in 2009's Whip It, and in the January 2013 issue of Allure, Drew touched on Kristen and Fab's relationship, saying, "It all seems so wacky and incestuous, but that's kind of how life works," adding, "It seems fitting that they would find each other. I was like, 'Right, of course, that makes perfect sense.'" Fabrizio and Kristen called it quits in July of that year.

Taylor Swift dated Taylor Lautner for three months (from August to November) in 2009, but before then, he was linked to the singer's BFF Selena Gomez. Selena told Seventeen in September of that year that she met the Twilight star in Canada, saying, "Kristen [Stewart] was staying in my hotel. He would visit her, so we were constantly running into each other in the lobby and we ended up meeting." She added, "We would go out to lunch and dinner, but I knew he had paparazzi following him and I had paparazzi following me. So we literally just wanted to hang out, go bowling and stuff, and it went a little too far, I think. People were getting a little crazy about us. But it was fun — I went to Vancouver thinking I was going to focus on my work, but instead I got to meet him, and it ended up being the best thing ever."

Nick Lachey and Nick Cannon both dated Kim Kardashian briefly in 2006. The former 98 Degrees member, who went on to marry Jessica Simpson and Vanessa Minnillo, told Details magazine in 2013 that they "went to a movie," adding, "No one followed us there. Somehow, mysteriously, when we left, there were 30 photographers waiting outside. There are certain ways to play this game, and some people play it well." Nick Cannon has talked about his and Kim's sex life in various interviews, and most recently, he revealed that blabbing about his relationship with her is what caused his impending divorce from Mariah Carey.

You know you remember this one: teen stars Lindsay and Hilary were pals before Hilary and Aaron started dating in 2000 (they were just 13 years old). According to Aaron, they dated for "like a year and a half," before he "got a little bored" and began getting to know Lindsay. "Then I didn't want to do that anymore, so I got back with Hilary. And then I ended up cheating on Hilary with her best friend," he added in a 2006 interview.

Heather and Richie were married from 1994 to 2007. Shortly after their split (three months, to be exact), Richie began dating Heather's best friend, Denise, who had just filed for divorce from Charlie Sheen. The hookup was said to have been the reason that Denise and Heather's friendship ended, but in June 2008, Denise told Redbook: "I was no longer friends with Heather months before Richie and I got together. I don't want to say what caused the split, but she and I weren't even speaking then. It wasn't ever like we'd be shopping and go back to her house and I'd flirt with her husband. Yes, I got together with Heather's soon-to-be ex-husband, but no, I didn't have an affair with him. If Heather and I had been friends at that time, I would never have crossed that line. But we weren't. The friendship was not salvageable, and in the beginning Richie and I just talked as friends because we were dealing with similar situations. We never planned for anything to happen."

Nina and Ian dated for three years before their split in May 2013, and Ian began dating Nikki in July 2014. Ian and Nina were reportedly both friends with Nikki and her husband, Paul McDonald, who broke things off in March.

OK, this one is a doozy: Taylor and Joe dated briefly in 2008 (he reportedly dumped her over the phone, and true to form, she wrote a song about it). Joe began dating Demi Lovato in March 2010, but they split a few months later. In Summer 2010, he and Ashley started a relationship; they broke up in May 2011, and in November, Ashley spoke about Demi's personal troubles, saying, "I'm really happy that she's doing well," adding, "She and I never had a problem with each other, but you know, it doesn't go away. Jen Aniston still gets asked about Angelina Jolie."